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Shh... It's A Secret

"Don't complain about something unless you intend to do something to change it" -Someone on the Internet^I'll start by saying that I am posting this rant in the hopes that someone from the DAS admin team will see it, and do something about it.

Deviant Art Secret:

Maybe you know them, maybe you you've seen their posts on the front page every now and then over the past 6 years, maybe you've even submitted a secret yourself (I did a while ago) and maybe you've realized the same thing a lot of other people have about them... namely that there is a lot of controversy around the idea (even after 6 years of operation) and the whole thing is actually rather poorly managed. The inner workings (not that I'm a part of that, but it's obvious from the outside) appear to be rife with miscommunications between helpers, the standards posted in past journals' rules are not upheld on a consistent basis, secrets that are mostly posted are done so on a quantity>'is more important than'>quality standard, yet months of backlogged secrets are common, contradicting the stated rule of "it will take a lest a month for your secret to be submitted". (btw, the spelling mistake in that quote is actually in the journal, and it's not the only one to be found in these 'official' postings)

And of course the comments by regular members about DAS's short-comings are endless yet none of them are responded to, or even acknowledged by the administration of the DAS club!

Here are some of my most recent favorites from the main page (since DAS disabled all comments on the secrets):

Dec 24, 2012Some of the people who are posting these secrets need some serious help. Rape, abuse and suicide are nothing to play with. Get some help because that stuff will eat away at your adult lives, even if you allow yourself to bury it years later. Don't let it linger on and on without talking to someone who can help you.--- Dec 23, 2012Ah, DAS, such a good place to fine my daily dose of drama -scrolls up and down comments-

Hehe, but on another note, I just think I'll throw my opinion out there. Some'll disagree, others might agree -shrug- Freedom of speech and all that shite.

DeviantART is an ART website, not a blogging website. If you feel the need to talk about you're problems, then take it to tumblr, or twitter, or youtube (since I hear vlogging is becoming quite popular). Or better yet, if your problem is so bad, seek professional help. There are multiple ways to receive such help - counseling is one of them. Hell, it's what counseling is for!

And I know people will be waving their arms telling me that DAS has been around longer than Twitter or Tumblr or whatever, but shouldn't that mean it's time to move? A few years ago before these sites existed, I wouldn't have minded, but now stuff like these so-called 'secrets' (seriously they aren't even secrets) have a proper place. And that place isn't here.

I could bitch and moan about how it isn't art or whatever, but scroll down you can probably see that a lot of people already have that point covered. So I think I'll leave it at that.

Just thought I'd put my two cents in, so agree or disagree, I don't care all that much.--- Dec 18, 2012You guys need to come clean on what the heck is going on in the background of this operation. What was once a well run operation, now looks like a start-up run by moronic yuppies.

1. The journals now look it was written by someone with a very loose grasp on the English language. If people are not reading the journals, it's because people train themselves to ignore text they can't read.

2. You have a popular thing going here; thus you are going to get a lot of user submitted content. Either find a way to sort it so only the best get posted or speed up your posting by getting more people who can post so that stuff get posted daily and reduces the back-log.

3. I have not forgotten that whole selling secrets debacle. I know that I personally want answers as to why anyone thought that would ever be a good idea. Seems to me it should have been shot down at first suggestion.--- Dec 14, 2012I figure I'll get put down for this, but I feel like I have to say it.

"DAS needs Artistic Secrets. We realise a lot of you think all secrets should be accepted. We also agree with this, but like it or not DAS is a club on an art site. Because of this secrets need to be artistic. If your secret is not artistic, it will not be accepted.

I hardly think a lengthy paragraph quickly jotted down over some scribbles could really be considered "artistic". I'm not saying everybody needs to go out and create a masterpiece, but some more thought put into these things would be nice. Maybe try being poetic or something...And for the love of god, learn to proofread.

The vast majority of this just comes off as whining rather than a heartfelt confession.

"... If you send in a secret that is much the same as the 1000's of other secrets in DAS, sorry, but your secret will not be accepted.

Either somebody lied, or I have missed something entirely.

Finally, I know it sucks to hear, but people cannot read your freaking mind. If you're upset no one understand you, sad that your best-friend got the guy you've been in love with for forever but never told, ect., please try being more direct with them instead of just getting upset about it.

Of course, I understand why DAS disabled comments on the secrets, people were abusing them and doing a lot more harm to the posters of the secrets than to DAS itself. Let's face it kids, the Internet is a cold, cruel, unyielding mass of judgment and ridicule; you can't expect to post anything and not get abusive feedback at least a little! So yes, I get the disabling comments thing. However, I don't understand why DAS continues to ignore these comments that are very obviously making good points about how to improve the way their club is run and how their members are using (and abusing) their service!

If you don't already know, DAS was inspired by a project an American guy started a number of years ago called Post Secret. It was, and still is, a brilliantly designed and executed project that has touched millions of people the world over. *DeviantArtSecret got the idea to duplicate this project, most likely with the (at one point, stated) intention of sharing the secrets of their artistic community in the best way we all know how... artistically! However, it hasn't quite worked out that way.

Listen, I get it that "anything can be considered art" and that people's secrets are their own and I shouldn't be the one to pass judgement on what qualifies as 'art' or even as a 'secret'. Or wait... isn't that exactly what the helpers and admins of DAS are supposed to do? YES! If you submit a secret you probably read their rules on how to do so, in which case we can assume you understand that your secret has the potential to be denied on the grounds that it is 'not artistic enough' or not original enough. (Because NO ONE except you has a best friend who loves the same guy you do and you're not sure if you can trust them anymore )

Lastly, and I promise this is the last point I'll make, I'd like to address their handling of secrets involving self-harm and other abusive behavior either to or from the secret teller. Granted, they do provide this dinky little journal about depicting self-harm in secrets but they completely ignore the biggest issue: secrets containing abusive (mentally or otherwise) statements.

Admitting you have a problem is the first step towards recovery, no matter what it is <<<<<everyone knows this.The NEXT step is doing something about it (ie: seeking help, professional or otherwise).

The Internet is not the best place to get help or advise on the matters of rape, self-harm, physical abuse, coping with mental disorders, etc. as most of the people commenting are not professionals and may not be giving good, or tested, advice. Because of the way DAS is set up, this inevitably happens whether they turn off the secret comments or not (ie: the main page). As a side note: Yes, my secret was one that would have been considered written by someone who need mental help and yes, I did pursue it and I did get better. It's not a secret anymore.

The reason Post Secret doesn't have this issue is because they don't allow comments. Period. There is a process of evaluating the secrets submitted and then the ones chosen are published where they cannot easily be publicly commented on. Those who submit do so for their own personal benefit and do not receive feedback in any way, they only find out if they got in the book or not. You can't fave their secrets, you can't comment and you can't follow comments on them.

Alright, I'm done. That's my two cents and you can take it or leave it, though I would prefer the former.

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TL;DR?I was annoyed with DAS so I did something about it.Read it, you might enjoy it.

It's one of the reasons people should focus more on supporting psychological professionals and mental help groups. There are a lot of things that would be better about the world if people only knew how to properly use the tools given them.

But see the human mentality in trained to be self-focused so it makes sure the self survives first and is more important than others. Your brain basically tricks you into thinking "I AM SPECIAL" and unless you take that message with a grain of salt, you will believe you are the single most unique person on earth.

A secret is something you keep to yourself, not something you tell everybody and if you don't want people to see things, don't post them to public. Just because people can't comment, doesn't mean people can't judge. Anybody can link to the 'secret' or do a dramatic reading on it. They're still going to receive feedback, disabling comments just tells everybody else they're scared of what others have to say.

Seriously, everyone on that group sound like whiny little cunts. DAS is a small group of people operating a very popular club, and for obvious reasons that can't just get anyone to help. You think it's poory run? That's great. Start a new one and run it yourself, then.

I commend your effort in this post and disagree with the childish antics posted below.

However, I must admit I'd never heard of da secrets before reading your post and a little bit of research into the topic has got me wholeheartedly against the entire purpose of it. It gives angsty teenagers another way to post their made up bullshit and cry about how life is unfair. Not to mention the implications of more serious (if real) secrets being exploited and made worse by the good ol Internet trolls. The idea could be a fun concept but the way it is now is a joke and has no place on a website about art.

Ultimately life is unfair posting little secrets on a group is pathetic and childish. Deal with them or better yet don't have any in the first place! That's my view o,o

You should seriously check out Post Secret (the link is in the rant). It's really a wonderful project and the guy travels to colleges all over to give talks and supports positive resolutions to those who have problems

As for the spam, think nothing of it. There is a method to the madness